


stuck with you

by vacancy_signs



Category: dreamnotfound - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, M/M, Minecraft, MxM - Freeform, No Smut, Not Beta Read, YouTube, characterdeath, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:41:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 16,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26281342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vacancy_signs/pseuds/vacancy_signs
Summary: Dream and his friends get trapped in a new release of Minecraft, as he deals with trying to survive in the cruel world of the game he also has to deal with new feelings toward his best friend...!! I do not intend to make Dream and George uncomfortable in any way, if they say they don't like people shipping them this story will be taken down immediately.  Please be respectful towards them !!Also I posted this on wattpad too (my account there has the same name) if that's what you prefer - the fic has a different title though.
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), dreamnotfound - Relationship, gream - Relationship
Comments: 41
Kudos: 274





	1. Disclaimer

Disclaimer  
Hi I’d just like to say a few things before I go on with the story.  
First of all, I do not ship Dream and George as people. I ship their online personas because I find their dynamic interesting, please do not drag Dream and George into this, or make them uncomfortable in any way. If they ever say that they have a problem with fanfictions being written about them or their personas I will take this story down immediately. They are real people and we need to respect them.  
Second, please just be more mindful when shipping them. It’s okay to ship them, but stop asking them about their sexuality on streams or going crazy whenever they do something mildly intimate, don’t just push the two together. Don’t make them uncomfortable in any way by shipping them.  
Third, RESPECT DREAM’S PRIVACY!!! Stop asking for a face reveal, he’ll do one once he’s ready, or maybe he’ll never do it - and that’s fine too! Just don’t go searching for pictures of him or try to pressure him into showing his face, that’s not okay. Believe me, I’m as curious as you are but just let him be okay, he is valid for not wanting to show his face, and don’t force him to do so.  
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy it! I’d like to mention that this concept was heavily inspired by @facadecake so please go check out their story!


	2. Chapter 1

The Microsoft MindSpace VR Headset was the most anticipated release of the year when it came to the gaming community. All of the most popular creators had preordered it. It was similar to most other gaming headsets, except it connected to nerves in your brain using extremely advanced technology and made it so games felt like you were actually in them. Additionally, you could sleep with the headset and your body would get rest while you were in the MindSpace. Everyone had been buzzing for weeks over which games they would play and how the MindSpace would change not just gaming, but lives forever. 

Naturally, Dream had gotten a few of his friends to go into the MindSpace with him to record a video in one of his favorite games - Minecraft. His viewers had been begging for another manhunt video and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to explore a new platform while also engaging his audience. This time he was going to try and go up against 4 hunters instead of 3, but to balance it out Dream had convinced his friends to do it on hardcore mode.

When he heard a knock at his door he opened it excitedly, finding the headset sitting at his doorstep. He set it near his desk and set it up. As he did this he sent out a message to his friends on TeamSpeak.  
Dream: My headset just came in what about you guys

Within a few minutes, he had received responses from most of them.

Sapnap: I got mine like an hour ago, haven’t gone in yet.

GeorgeNotFound: Lucky. Mine says it’s going to be here in 2 hours at the LEAST

Dream: Aw don’t worry Gogy we’ll wait for you~

BadBoyHalo: Mine arrived, haven’t used it yet but I’ll wait for you George :)

GeorgeNotFound: Thank youuuu

ItsAlyssa: Mine should be here soon - also thanks again for letting me be in the manhunt Dream!

Dream: We’re happy to have you, Alyssa

Dream closed the app and started working on the headset. He wasn’t going to go in yet, he just needed to code in the compass and figure out how to record inside the MindSpace. Sadly, the internet did not help with the latter. Almost no one had any tutorials up on how to do it and even the website said nothing about it. Dream eventually gave up, deciding that he’d have to wait for the developers to post a tutorial or something. He looked at his phone and noticed that almost 2 hours had passed and decided to check TeamSpeak.

GeorgeNotFound: It’ll be here in 10 minutes!

Sapnap: About time I was getting kinda antsy to go in. 

Alyssa: Same here! And I’m ready to start the manhunt when you guys are

BadBoyHalo: I’m ready! George any updates?

GeorgeNotFound: GUYS I JUST HEARD A KNOCK AT THE DOOR

Sapnap: LET’S GO

Dream: Guys I don’t think I can record the game inside of the headset…   
should we just go in to test it out, and see if 4 hunters aren’t too much or  
just wait till we can record

Alyssa: I wouldn’t mind a practice run.

Sapnap: Yeah sounds good

Within half an hour they all found themselves logged into Minecraft, Dream creating a new world. 

“You guys ready?” Dream asked.

“Yup,”

“Uh-huh,” 

“I am!”

“Just start the world already,” George nagged.

“Alright.” Dream pressed the create button. “Let's begin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hi! If you're reading this, I'd just like to thank you for being here, please leave a comment. I'd love to hear what you have to say. Also if you encounter any spelling/grammar mistakes please feel free to tell me, I'll try to fix them.


	3. Chapter 2

As Dream took his first look around the MindSpace, the others joined in the world. Instead of starting the hunt immediately, they looked to the world around them in awe. The game still looked like Minecraft, but with a hyper-realistic shader on. It was sort of hard to tell it was even a game until they looked to the sky and saw classic game mechanics like floating blocks or random cave openings. Everything looked so real, despite being blocky, and even felt so real. Dream could feel the breeze on his skin and the sun shining on him. Alyssa handed him a rose from a bush nearby that looked just like a real one and smelled like it too.

“Dream,” George said, snapping Dream out of his trance. 

“Yeah?”

“I’m surprised you managed to hide your face even in here.” Dream looked at George and noticed that he looked just like his real-life self, but wore the clothes of his Minecraft skin. The blue shirt and pants, and even huge white glasses rested on top of his head.

He’s really cute in person. Dream thought to himself, blushing when George's eyes met his. 

The same thing went for the other three, who were also wearing similar outfits to their skin. Dream looked down, realizing that he looked a lot different from his skin, which makes sense because his skin wasn’t a person. Instead, he wore a green hoodie and dark pants. When he raised a hand to his face he noticed he was wearing a mask, which he hadn’t even felt on his head. His whole outfit was eerily similar to lots of fanart he’d seen. 

“What can I say, I just love to keep you guessing.” George rolled his eyes and the others laughed. 

“Well… should we start?” Sapnap suggested, pulling out a compass from seemingly nowhere. 

Before anyone could respond Dream bolted out of the forest they had been in, hearing his friends curse behind him. He laughed and stopped for some wood before running again. Going to the end with three hunters was hard, let alone four, so he had to make sure that he could keep his distance. He was getting hungrier and hungrier by the minute, so he stopped near a patch of cows to quickly get some meat, but stopped for a minute. 

He had managed to craft a stone sword easily but wasn’t quite sure how to get food from the cows. He knew they were fake, but they looked extremely real, and unlike the world around them, not blocky at all. He closed his eyes and stuck his sword through the animal. When he opened them the cow had faded away, but his sword still had some blood spatters on it. In the cow’s place was a piece of leather and two small slabs of meat hovering close to the ground.

Dream heard his friends catching up to him in the distance, it looked like they had spotted him. He crafted a furnace as quickly as he could, putting coal inside and the meat on top of it. Dream looked at his friends, noticing that George and Alyssa didn’t seem to have anything on them, but Bad and Sapnap were both carrying wooden swords. 

Dream smiled and clutched his sword. I can take them on.

Defying all laws of Minecraft physics, Dream desperately threw his stone sword and it hit Bad right in the chest. He fell to the ground and tried to pull the sword out of his chest but he couldn’t do it. Alyssa rushed to him and tried to give him what looked like apples, but it was too late. He faded into nothingness. 

BadBoyHalo was killed by Dream using a stone sword.

“Oh come on Bad, you couldn’t stay alive for five minutes?” George sighed, picking up his friend's inventory. “Bad? You there?”

Sapnap looked around at his friends with confusion. “Did he rage or something?” A menu screen popped up in front of Sapnap and he scrolled through it. “I’m gonna check on him, be right back.” Sapnap got to where the exit button normally was and stopped for a minute. The button was there, but it was a dark grey with a line going through it. He tapped on it but nothing happened. 

“Guys,” Sapnap said frantically as he kept trying to push the button to no avail. Alyssa pulled out her menu and the button was crossed out too.

Dream and George opened theirs. Shit. Dream tried to remain calm on the outside but internally he was screaming. Sapnap was clearly worried, along with George, and Alyssa just looked confused.

“There’s gotta be some way out,” Alyssa remarked, scrolling through the settings. 

“Well there is, but fucking it’s crossed out,” Sapnap yelled, gesturing to his screen. 

Dream closed his menu and put a hand on Sapnap’s shoulder. “I’m sure it’ll be fine, it’s hardcore anyway, it’ll just kick us out if we die,” he said more for himself then to Sapnap.

“Not necessarily - this game is intense,” George brought up nervously. “It can make us feel things as if they were real, it can make us feel pain. I’m sure the headset could easily kill us if it wanted to. Dying here might mean dying in the real world.”

Dream kneeled down in front of Bad’s inventory, some stuff still floating there from when he died, things George hadn’t bothered to take. 

“That’s ridiculous,” Alyssa scoffed. “They can’t just sell a product that kills people.” 

Dream picked up his stone sword from the ground. His friend’s blood was still dripping off of it. 

“You don’t know that,” Sapnap whispered. 

The tears started coming, Dream felt lucky to have the mask. 

“Dream you’ve been quiet,” George confronted. “Did you know about this or something?”

He shook his head, not wanting to speak. 

“You okay?”

“No,” Dream clutched the sword. “Bad is dead. I killed him.”

“We don’t know that I’m sure he’s fine,” Alyssa reassured him. 

Dream took deep breaths, trying to calm down a little. “When I killed him it said… on the corner of the screen that he was dead.” The others looked at him, unconvinced. 

“It never said he left the game.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hi so I'm sorry is this story is cringe so far but I'm having fun writing it.


	4. Chapter 3

Dream tried to stay calm, maybe his friend wasn’t dead. But for some reason that seemed unlikely… 

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Alyssa said quietly. “There’s no reason to believe he’s gone.”

Sapnap opened his pause menu again and nervously showed it to Dream, pointing to the side of it. On the right was a list of all the players in the game. The username BadBoyHalo was at the bottom of the list, his name crossed out just like the ‘Quit Game’ button.

“Shit!” Dream shouted. “Oh my God, I killed him. One of the nicest people I know-” 

“Dream don’t beat yourself up over this you had no idea,” Sapnap comforted. “Besides… we can’t think about that right now, it’s going to be night soon and we should try and find shelter.”

Dream nodded, and the four of them started to work on gathering things for the house. Sapnap and Alyssa were digging into the side of a hill to start a base while Dream and George collected wood and food. 

“Hey Dream,” George said softly after a few minutes. “I’m sorry about what happened earlier. I know it must be hard on you, but don’t blame yourself, it's not your fault.” 

Dream laughed at George sadly. “I threw a sword at his chest. How is that not my fault.” He wished that his mask covered more than just his eyes and nose. He wished that George couldn’t see him at all. In general, Dream was pretty open about his emotions and wasn’t afraid of getting emotional with them but he’d never cried in front of George in a call, let alone in person.

Dream felt George wrap his arms around him, pulling him into a hug. Dream let out a sob and held George closely. George was running his fingers through Dream’s hair and Dream just wanted to kiss him so badly. 

Wait what the hell, He thought to himself. I don’t like George like that… He shrugged it off, maybe the stress was just getting to him. 

George pulled away, looking away from Dream. “We should probably head back soon.” 

Dream nodded, not bothering to chop down the rest of the tree he was working on. The leaves floated in the air just like they did in the normal game. 

“Dream,” George said after a few minutes of walking. 

“What is it?” Dream asked, not really paying attention to him.  
“Can you show me your face?”

Dream stopped in his tracks. He wasn’t expecting George to ask that, and he didn’t really feel like taking his mask off at all. He liked not having to show his face. Sure George had seen pictures of him before but in person (or at least what felt like in person) it was different. He might not care too much if they were under different circumstances, but so much had happened today.

“Maybe later.”

“Why?” George urged. 

“I just don’t feel like it right now okay.” They were close to the house Sapnap had started building, so Dream didn’t bother talking to George for the rest of the walk. The two arrived just as the sun had finally set, and they wouldn’t have been able to see where the house was if it weren’t for the torches outside.

“Do you think they can hurt you?” Dream said, gesturing to the torches. “I know that they can’t in Minecraft but the fire looks so real.”

Without saying a word George stuck his hand through the fire, causing Dream to yell his name. 

“GEORGE WHAT THE HELL YOU CAN’T JUST DO THAT!” 

George just laughed, pulling his hand out of the flames and showing it to Dream. It looked completely healthy, free of any burns or injury. “I’m fine, there’s no reason to overreact like that.”

“Well you should be more careful, what if you did take damage?” 

George shrugged. “I didn’t though. Besides, if it did hurt I could just eat or something.” Dream opened his mouth to protest, but George had already opened the door to the base and slipped inside. Dream followed, examining the room around him. 

Alyssa and Sapnap had dug quite a big base considering what little time they had. It consisted of a narrow hallway with a few furnaces and crafting tables at the end of it. On the sides were four little rooms with signs above each door, indicating the owner of them. George headed straight to his room while Dream decided to check on Sapnap.

“Hey Nick, how are you doing?” Dream asked, giving him some of the food he had found.

“Not that well,” He said, packing the food into a chest. “I mean, how great can you be when you’re stuck in a video game and don’t know if you’ll ever see the real world again, or even make it out of the night alive.”

“You must be fun to have at parties.” 

“Dream this is serious,” Sapnap snapped. “I don’t know, maybe I’m overreacting but I feel like this is a bigger deal then you guys are making it out to be. I’m kind of freaking out right now honestly.”

Dream stood there for a minute. He didn’t really know what to say, and Sapnap looked close to crying. “Look I’m really sorry,” Dream said half heartedly. “I know this is hard, hell I’m scared too. But I think we’re going to be stuck here for a while so I’d rather have a sense of humor about it.” Dream was still having a hard time grasping what was going on, today had been so stressful but at the same time it was too bizarre to be real. 

Sapnap just sighed, clearly annoyed with Dream. “Look I think I just want to be alone for a little okay?”

“Sap if you need to talk-” 

“Can you get out?” Sapnap raised his voice and Dream didn’t bother arguing. 

Dream stepped into the hallway, making his way to his room near the end, right across from George’s. It was rather small, only about three blocks wide and four blocks long but it was enough for the night. Dream was quickly hit with a wave of boredom followed by self hatred. He felt guilty for killing Bad. He was one of his closest friends and now he was just gone… and it was all Dream’s fault. It was also his idea to make a video inside of the MindSpace. Some of his closest friends were trapped here because of him, and they weren’t even sure if they’d be able to make it out alive. Additionally, he’d been feeling weird around George recently, he didn’t know what it was but everything just felt different with him.

Dream decided he’d had enough. He was worried about what would happen if he was left alone for any longer. He stepped into the hall and looked at the doors in front of him. Sapnap was probably still annoyed with him, and Alyssa and George were probably asleep. He sighed, turning back to his room when a door creaked behind him.

“Dream,” George said, clearly tired. “Why are you still up?”

“Well how am I supposed to fall asleep on the ground? Besides, I just… I feel like I need to talk to someone.”

George stood there for a moment. Dream knew that he wasn’t really the type to get emotional with people, George always avoided those type conversations. Despite that George nodded and opened the door to his room.

“You’ve been pretty busy,” Dream commented, examining George’s room. It was a lot nicer than Dream’s, even though they hadn’t had much time to do anything. Geroge had dug it out to be a little bigger and replaced some of the walls with wood instead of dirt. In the corner was a small staircase, which looked like the start of a stripmine. Dream wondered how much resources George had gotten already. 

“I couldn’t sleep,” George explained, rubbing his eyes and sitting down on a crafting table. “I’m tired but I just can’t let myself be alone with my thoughts.”

“Yeah I get it.”

George got up and looked at George thoughtfully. “You don’t have any wool on you do you?”

“I do actually,” Dream said, pulling it out and giving it to George. “Why do you need it?”

George smiled and placed Dream’s wool on the crafting table, while also getting out some of his own and placing it right beside Dream’s. He put some wood underneath and then all of the materials disappeared for a split second but then came back in the form of a bed. George placed the bed next to the table and sat down on it grinning. “Thanks for the bed Dream~”

“Oh come on, that’s not fair you used some of my wool to make it, can’t I have it?”

“No way, I found most of the materials anyway. I hope you’re comfortable sleeping on the ground for tonight Dream,” George teased.

“Maybe we can just share it,” Dream suggested. George laughed but he wasn’t joking. “Seriously, there’s enough room. It might be a little cramped but I’m not sleeping on the floor.”

George raised an eyebrow at him. “I don’t know, it’s kind of weird…”

“We’ve been through plenty of weird stuff today, you can handle sharing a bed with me.”

“Fine you can stay,” George groaned. “But only under one condition.”

“And what’s that?” Dream asked, dreading Geroge’s answer. 

“Take off your mask.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Okay hii thank you guys so much for reading this omg I didn’t expect this to get any reads lol. Also, I’d like to say that I wrote the first chapters before the 4v1 manhunt (DREAM WON BTW AND YOU CAN FIGHT ME ON THAT) came out and I didn’t know that Ant would be in it so that’s why it’s Alyssa in this story lol  
> also, I'm new to ao3 and this work is currently displayed as complete but its not so... how do I fix that-


	5. Chapter 4

Dream avoided George’s gaze, playing with the hem of his sweater. He knew that he’d barely get any sleep if he didn’t share the bed with George, but he really didn’t want to take his mask off. 

“Dream, you there?” George said with a laugh. His laugh sounded so different now. Dream had always liked hearing his friend’s laugh, but he hadn’t heard a genuine laugh from him in a while. This one was nervous and quite, nothing like the loud uncontrollable ones he used to hear all the time. 

He still sounds cute though. What the hell. Dream took a deep breath, trying to clear the thought from his head. 

“Okay, I’ll take it off. It’s not like I was going to sleep with it anyways.” Dream pulled it off, it’s not like George hadn’t seen his face before, he’d sent him pictures and they’d video called. Besides, the mask only covered his eyes and nose. George looked Dream right in the eye, studying every inch of his face, earning a blush from Dream. “Like what you see?”

“Shut up,” George spat. “I’m tired, let’s sleep.” Dream nodded and pulled off his shoes. He crawled into bed next to George. They were in extremely close proximity, but Dream was too tired to care. His friend fell asleep within minutes and Dream followed.

_____

Dream found himself in an oak forest, right next to a plains biome. It had a striking resemblance to the one he had been in earlier that day. Everything was the same, but something felt off. 

“George?” He called out, receiving no response. “Sapnap? Alyssa?” 

“Behind you.”

Dream let out a yelp and spun around quickly. He was met with someone he’d never thought he’d see again. 

“Bad? Are you okay, did you make it?” Dream had spoken too soon. Bad clearly did not look okay. He had a grin plastered onto his face, but his skin was much paler than before. Dream’s blade was still sticking out of his chest, blood pouring out the wound. 

“Dream did you forget?” Bad’s voice sounded the same as when he’d last seen him, making everything even more disturbing. He still sounded cheerful and goofy, despite the menacing smile and gaping wound. “You killed me.” Blood oozed out of his mouth and he started to laugh.

Dream backed away from the twisted version of his friend. This isn’t real. It’s just a dream. This isn’t real. It’s just a-

His eyes darted open. Suddenly he was back in George’s room. Dream realized he was crying, and tried to raise his hand to his face to wipe them off when we felt something on his right arm. He looked over to see George hugging his side, his head on Dream’s shoulder. His tears were quickly replaced with a blush and Dream sat there, not knowing what to do. It was weird… he knew that George was never much for physical affection so being so close to him like this felt strange. Dream’s heart ached looking at George. He didn’t want to get up, or talk to Sapnap and Alyssa. He didn’t want to hunt or mine or build. He didn’t want to do anything but stay with George, in that moment, forever.

George yawned and slowly started opening his eyes. Dream closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep, not wanting George to know he was up. “Good morning,” George mumbled quietly, still half asleep. 

Dream let out a breath and pretended to wake up with George. “Morning.”

George rubbed his eyes and quickly seemed to notice how closely he had been holding onto Dream. He backed away, but went a little too far and tripped out of the bed. This resulted in Dream wheezing and laughing at his friend while George defended himself, making excuses about the bed being too small. 

“We had more than enough room you could have easily stayed on,” Dream said between laughs.

“It was extremely small. We were basically on top of each other the whole night,” George reasoned. His face went pale after he said the sentence. “Wait no like that-”

“NO YOU CAN’T TAKE IT BACK NOW,” Dream wheezed. “Our fans would have LOVED to hear you say that.”

“Good thing they’re not here,” George laughed with Dream. Dream liked laughing with George, it made everything feel normal compared to the situation they were in. After they’d calmed down a little George got up and sat next to him on the edge of the bed. “I’m sorry about this morning,” he said quietly. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or anything… I guess I just hugged you in my sleep or something I don’t know why. I didn’t mean to, I think I had a bad nightmare or something.”

“No, it’s fine.” I kind of liked it. “Don’t worry about it.” Maybe we could do it again… “I had a bad dream too, what was yours about?”

“Oh, I don’t remember. What was yours?” 

“It was about zombies or something, not that scary now that I look back on it,” Dream lied.

George rolled his eyes. “Okay don’t tell me then.” 

“What, I’m telling the truth.” 

“Dream Bad died yesterday. I know it wasn’t about zombies.”

Dream sighed and nervously fiddled with his sweater. “Yeah, it was about him. He talked to me and -” he wiped the tears out of his eyes “- I just can’t believe he’s gone. It’s all my fault. And I know you’re just gonna say some BS about how I didn’t know it was gonna happen but nothing you could possibly say will change the fact that I stabbed him.”

“I know, but think about what Bad would have wanted. He wouldn’t want to see you like this - and I’m sure he’d forgive you, he knew you didn’t mean to actually hurt him.” George stood up and walked toward the door. “We should probably get up, it’s probably morning by now.”

“Wait!” Dream jumped out of the bed and almost tackled George, pulling him into a big hug. 

George struggled out of his arms. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Just trying to hug my best friend,” Dream teased, messing up the shorter boy’s hair with his hand. “Is that really so bad?”

George rolled his eyes but Dream heard him mumble something before he opened the door. “I guess not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry I took a while to post this one! I was kinda busy with school :( I’ll try to write up the next one later this week but I can’t make any promises.  
> Anyways, the chapters so far have been in Dream’s perspective, but I’m thinking of possibly writing some from George’s. Leave a comment if you want me to do that!  
> Also thank you guys so much for almost 600 hits! I didn't think anyone would even read this


	6. Chapter 5

Dream and George stepped into the hallway, Dream not even bothering to put his mask on correctly, that was once just a slim dirt corridor with a door at the front, and noticed that it had changed a lot since they had last seen it. The dirt had been replaced with oak and the front door had been removed, revealing a large living room area filled with chests and furnaces. Alyssa was in the corner of the room, putting some meat inside a furnace. “I couldn’t sleep,” she mumbled. Dream felt guilty thinking about the bed, knowing that Alyssa didn’t have one. 

“The room looks good though,” George commented. “So what’s the plan for today?” 

“I don’t think we should do much, maybe just get some food and wood. Sapnap hasn’t really been taking this well so maybe we could bake him a cake as a present,” Alyssa suggested. Dream wanted to check on his friend, but after their last conversation he decided it was best not to. Sapnap normally got over things quickly anyway. 

“We should just play it safe for now,” Dream suggested. “Get some more food, maybe go mining.”

“I can go mining,” George offered. “I saw a cave nearby and I already have an iron pic.”

Alyssa nodded and gave Dream some logs. “Okay go ahead, Dream can help with the house for now.” 

“Do I have a say in this?” Dream asked. He was never the best at building.

“Nope,” George and Alyssa said in unison. George shut the door behind him and Alyssa pulled Dream through a door he hadn’t noticed before. It led to a room that still had dirt floors and walls. 

“I was thinking we could make this a chestroom - I don’t want the entrance to be too cluttered. Then when we’re done maybe we can go hunting?” 

“Sounds good,” Dream replied. He was a little upset that he couldn’t spend the day with George, but at the same time he was happy to be working with Alyssa. They used to be really close but they had sort of drifted apart when Dream added more people to the SMP. She was rarely active anymore and he missed spending him with her. In some ways, she knew him better than George and Sapnap did. She was really easy to talk to, which is why she was the only person who Dream had opened up to about his sexuality. 

Dream had always kind of known he was bi, and it was never really a big deal to him. It’s just the way he is. He had never felt the need to tell his other friends because it simply never came up. He was also a little worried that they would judge him, he knew that his friends weren’t homophobic or anything he just didn’t want to be thought of as different at all. He had told Alyssa about it pretty early on into their friendship and she was extremely accepting about it, even buying him the pink purple and blue flag he had hanging up in his room.

“Dream,” Alyssa called, snapping him out of his trance. “The room’s pretty much done, should we go hunting now?”

“Sure, race you outside,” Dream said before sprinting out of the room.

“Hey that’s not fair you got a head start!” Alyssa called out from behind. He laughed, slowing down to let her catch up.

“Not my fault you weren’t paying attention,” Dream argued.

Alyssa scoffed. “Oh yes, not being ready to randomly run out of a room at full speed means that I wasn’t paying attention. My bad!” Dream continued walking with Alyssa into the nearby forest. A few minutes in he stopped, noticing a crafting table and a furnace. At first he wondered why they were there but then it hit him. 

That’s where Bad died… 

Alyssa noticed this and tried to pull in the opposite direction. “Come on Dream, just look away. Don’t think about that right now.” 

He sighed. “I just wish he were here. I wish I could tell him how sorry I am.” 

“Bad is a really understanding person. I’m sure that he knows you didn’t mean to hurt him, so don’t worry about that. You had no clue what was going to happen - none of us did.” Alyssa gave Dream a tight squeeze and then left to go hunt some sheep nearby. Dream joined her and it didn’t take long for them to get enough food for the next few days. 

Soon the sun started to set, and they made their way back to the hut to cook everything they had gathered. Sapnap came out of his room when he heard them and explained that he had been sleeping all day because he had gotten none the night before. He didn’t seem to be as mad at Dream as he had been before, which was nice. 

“Wait guys I wanna show you something,” Alyssa said. Dream and Sapnap followed her, each of them munching on some steak. She showed them a ladder in the corner of the room that Dream hadn’t even noticed before. When they climbed up they found themselves on the roof of the house with a perfect view of the sunset. The sky was prettier than anything Dream had seen in real life.

“Maybe living in the game won’t be so bad,” Sapnap mumbled. “I mean, I miss my real life but this is actually really nice.” Dream nodded and the three of them watched the sun set silently.

Wait, three?

“Guys,” Dream looked around. “Where’s George?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Okay so I haven’t been uploading consistently but starting now I’m going to try and update every Wednesday. I’m sorry this chapter was a little short but I have a lot planned for the next one and I’m super excited for it!  
> Also #POG2020


	7. Chapter 6

“He’s probably just in his room or something, we can check there.” Alyssa shrugged. 

“I was looking for him earlier and he wasn’t in his room,” Sapnap said. “And I would have noticed if he came inside. I bet he’s fine though, maybe he slipped by us. It’s getting pretty dark.”

“I bet that’s what happened,” Alyssa agreed. The two of them stayed still but Dream remained paranoid. 

“I’ll go check on him.” Dream rushed down the ladder and into George’s room. Nothing had changed since the last time he had been there, and George himself was nowhere to be found. He checked the other rooms of the house with no luck. By that time Alyssa and Sapnap had come down from the roof and Dream’s worry was spreading to them too. 

“We should try and find him,” Sapnap stated. “Where did you last see him?”

“He said he was going mining in a cave nearby. There’s no way it’s that far from here, I bet we could find it,” Alyssa answered.

They rushed out of the house, each of them with a few torches searching for a cave. They found it pretty easily, it was only about fifty-something blocks form the house and had torches lighting it up. Dream felt a burst of hope as he saw the entrance and ran full speed into the cave. As they came in they were already faced with a fork in the road, three alleyways going in different directions. Only two of them were lit up so Dream went alone down one while Sapnap and Alyssa went down the other. After hitting a dead end Dream went back to catch up with the other two who had traveled a ways down the tunnel. Dream’s anxiety was going through the roof, he knew George was probably fine but he couldn’t help but assume the worst. George could be trapped somewhere with no pickaxe, or maybe he ran out of food and was starving to death somewhere. Mobs could be cornering him, there could be endless things going wrong.

Dream cared so much about his friends, and George was one of the only things keeping Dream going. He didn’t know what he’d do without him. Sapnap noticed his worry and tried to comfort him but everything he said went in one ear and out the other. Everything hurt. His chest ached and he readjusted his mask to cover up his tears. They’d been searching for hours with still no luck. 

“We should go back,” Alyssa said quietly. “I don’t think we’ll find him here. He probably went back to the house anyway.”

“No way, we’re not going back without him. We already lost Bad we can’t just let another person die,” Dream defended.  
“She didn’t say anything about him dying, I’m sure he’s fine. He probably dug his way out.”

“We don’t know that,” Dream hissed. “He could be in trouble, I’m not leaving until we find him. If you guys wanna go back to the house then just leave I’ll be fine on my own.”

“No we should stick together,” Alyssa insisted. “This all happened because George was alone and we can’t separate again.” 

“Exactly, so if we both want to go back and Dream wants to stay, then he should have to come with us. There’s a better chance that he’s up there anyway.”

“You’re just saying that. I feel like he’s still down here, so I’m not leaving without him,” Dream said stubbornly, beginning to walk further into the cave.

“Okay, have fun then,” Sapnap spun around walking the opposite direction of Dream. Alyssa grabbed both of them before they could get too far. Dream was tempted to just pull away and continue down the cave - he was much stronger than her and could have easily - but she was his friend he owed it to her to listen. Sapnap seemed to have a similar reaction, he was looking Dream in the eye and crossing his arms.

“We can’t split up, seriously. At this point I don’t care where we go as long as we’re at least together,” Alyssa said. “You two are both being really unreasonable right now, can’t you just sort this out calmly like actual adults?” Dream rolled his eyes. He still never thought of himself as an adult. Hell, he made Minecraft videos for a living.

Lucky for him, Sapnap made the first move. “Look Dream, I really don’t like arguing with you. You’re one of my best friends. But so much has happened in the past few days and I think we’re both going a little crazy because of it. I can’t even begin to imagine what you’ve been going through with Bad and all, but the best thing to do is just go back. George is a smart guy, he’ll find his way out.”

“You don’t know that he’ll find his way out, so many things could have happened to him he could be in all sorts of danger. I just want to know that he’s safe. I can’t just leave until I’ve seen his face again.”

“Why? We’ve already said that he might be back at base, being down here solves nothing. Why do you care this much anyway? Don’t get me wrong, I love George, but would you even still be down here if it were me or Alyssa lost?”

“Yes, I would!” Dream lied. “I’d do this for either of you.” Another lie. But he wasn’t quite sure why. He’d known Sapnap for longer than he did George, and had always been close with Alyssa. But for some reason he felt a certain need to be around George, he didn’t like being without him and most of his favorite memories included him. All he wanted to do right now was hold him, and know that he was safe. He’d never really felt that kind of connection with anyone else. He didn’t like these feelings, he didn’t like being so dependent on other people, but it was something that had consumed him over the past few hours.

“You’re such a bad liar Dream,” Sapnap replied, raising his voice. “I know you’re really close with George but recently it feels like you don’t even realize I exist, he’s the only thing you talk about.”

Dream huffed. “It’s not my fault you were so distant yesterday-”

“It’s not just yesterday,” Sapnap interrupted. “This has been happening for months, even your fans have picked up on it. God, it’s like you’re in love with him or something.”

“WELL MAYBE I AM,” Dream yelled. Sapnap went silent and then his jaw dropped, Alyssa’s eyes were also wide open. “What is it?” Dream asked, still angry. Their eyes weren’t looking at him though, they were fixated on something further behind him. He turned around following their gaze and found himself face to face with the short British boy. 

George looked at him with those beautiful brown eyes, filled with just as much shock as the others had. “Dream?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: If sapnap autocorrects to Subpoena one more time I’m going to kill someone. Also thanks to everyone who stuck around and is still reading! Sorry I didn't post yesterday like I said I would ao3 was down for maintenance :(


	8. Chapter 7

Dream had never been so scared in his life. His heart was thumping so hard it was about to escape and it was all he could hear. His hands shook and he tightened his grip on the torch he was holding. He wanted so badly to say something, anything, but all he could do is stand there as George looked right at him. He readjusted his mask so it covered his face.

Alyssa broke the tension by darting toward George and giving him a tight hug. “George we were so worried about you, I’m glad you’re safe.”

“You too,” George said distantly. He was still looking at Dream.

“What were you doing down here for so long?” Sapnap questioned. “We had no clue where you were.”

“I lost track of time I guess, I wanted to find diamonds but didn’t really have any luck.”

“Well it doesn’t matter now, let’s just get back to the surface. I'm sick of this cave,” Alyssa said. She turned and started to go back in the direction they came from. Sapnap caught up with her but Dream and George trailed behind them, far enough where they couldn’t really understand what they were saying.

“So Dream about what you were saying-”

“It’s nothing,” Dream blurted out, cutting off George. “I didn’t mean to say that, Sapnap and I were just arguing and I don’t know what came over me, I was just mad that’s all.”

George looked at Dream with an eyebrow raised, clearly unconvinced. “Okay, but if you do feel like-”

“But I don’t,” Dream interrupted again. 

“I understand, but I’m just saying that it’s okay if you feel like that, I won’t judge you. We’d still be friends.” 

“And that’s great, but I don’t like you that way. I was mad at Sapnap.” He wished more than anything that he could tell George the truth, but he knew that things just wouldn’t be the same. Even if George promised they’d still be friends, he knew that they’d drift apart. Things would be awkward.

George just sighed. “You’ve always been so good at lying, I don’t know if I can believe you or not sometimes.”

“That’s not true,” Dream defended. “You know that honesty is important to me.” That was true, Dream never liked lying even though he’d done so more than enough today. 

“I guess so, but you can be closed off about some stuff. Hell, I’ve known you for four years and saw your face for the first time yesterday. Isn’t that a little insane?”

“George, you know almost everything about me. My face just isn’t something I associate with myself. When people think of me I want them to think of my personality and my achievements, not my body. Now can we please just change the subject or something, I don’t like talking about this.”

“Dream, this isn’t TeamSpeak, you can’t just hang up and take a break. If you have feelings for me that’s okay, we can work this out.”

“Why do you keep bringing that up?” Dream snapped. “I’ve told you multiple times that I got mad, and I didn’t mean what I said. Do you want me to like you or something? Because I hate to break it to you but that’s not going to happen.” 

“What? No- I…” George thought for a moment. “You sounded so genuine when you said it. But you’re my friend, I’ll believe you if that’s what you want me to do Dream.” Even though he was saying what Dream wanted to hear, there was still bitterness to his voice. Dream was about to say something back when George looked away from him and put his clout glasses on. Dream was relieved to see moonlight shining through the cave in the distance and knew that it’d only be a few more minutes of walking until they got to the house. 

Those few minutes were torture. The tension between the two was ungodly, and Dream was still having trouble processing what had just happened. He didn’t want George to be mad at him but he knew that if he said anything else he would just ask him more about what he said earlier. Dream was also worried that George still thought he was lying.

“It’s good to be back,” Alyssa yawned once Dream and George caught up with her. “I think Dream and I found enough wool today for beds, I’ll go make them right now.” Alyssa headed to the chest room they had built earlier and George went straight to his room, leaving Sapnap and Dream alone in the living room.

“Dream I’m really sorry for pushing you earlier,” He apologized. “And I shouldn’t have said that you were in love with George either… even if it might be true.”

“It isn’t.”

Sapnap sighed and put a hand on Dream’s shoulder. “You know I’d never tell George if you liked him.”

“Yeah,” Dream whispered. “I do like him. I love him. And it hurts so much to see him be mad at me. I wish we never got stuck here, then these stupid fucking feelings would go away.”

Sapnap let out a laugh. “Wait so how long have you liked him?”

“It only really started when we joined this game.”

Sapnap shook his head. “You’re insane you know that right? You’ve liked him for a year at the least.”

“No, I haven’t!” But he realized that Sapnap was right. When he looked back at his past self he knew that he had always liked George at least a little, the past couple days had just enhanced it.

“You’re so stupid, you know I’m right,” Sapnap smirked.

“Shut up,” Dream couldn’t help but blush. 

Sapnap laughed and started to sing loudly. “Dream and George sittin’ in a tree. K-I-S-S-I--” Dream shoved his hand over his friend’s mouth before he could continue. Sapnap laughed and pulled away from him.

“That’s not funny Sap!”

“It is to me.” Alyssa came into the room a few seconds later, carrying three miniature beds in her hand. She gave one to each of them before slowly going to her room. Sapnap followed down the hallway going into his own. 

Dream did the same, and he found himself inside his dark, empty room in a bed that felt just a little too cold. He missed George’s room, it was bigger and didn’t have the ugly dirt walls that Dream’s did. He had more furnaces and even a mine.

And of course, it had him. He missed George’s warmth. Even though he used to sleep alone almost every night he was having trouble doing it now, he wanted more than anything to have George lying next to him.

That’s when he heard a knock at the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks for over a hundred kudos! I love you guys :)


	9. Chapter 8

“Dream can I come in?” George said softly. Dream got out of bed and opened the door for him.

“What is it?” Dream asked, trying to block the entrance to the room by standing near the doorframe. George managed to slip past him and sat on Dream’s bed. 

“I just want to make sure you’re not mad at me or anything.”

Dream laughed. “George you were really mad too. Sorry if I got too frustrated or something, but we’re friends it was just a fight. People go through them, it’s fine.”

“Well, I know that, I just don’t like going to bed angry. Especially when there’s this much uncertainty, anything could happen overnight.”

Dream nodded and stared at the floor awkwardly. “George I know we each have a bed now but…”

“There’s no way we’re sharing again,” George dismissed. “You have your own bed.”

“No not that - I was just having a hard time asleep alone and would you be okay sharing a room for now?” Dream was so worried about sounding too desperate but was pretty sure he failed at doing so. “I want to sleep in my own bed too but it’s just more comfortable with someone else in the room.”

“I guess so.” George went back to his room and quickly returned bringing back his bed. Dream stopped him before he could place it down.

“Wait, give it to me for a second,” Dream said. George did as he said and Dream took a quick look through his inventory. He noticed something he had picked up earlier that day - a cornflower - and smiled. Within a few seconds, he used the crafting table to turn the flower into blue dye and turn George’s bed into a gorgeous lapiz color. He placed it down a few blocks away from his own bed.

“Thank you,” George smiled. “It looks so pretty.” 

“No problem.” Dream yawned and his eyes became heavy, he was struggling to keep them open. “I’m gonna fall asleep now,” he said quietly. “Good night George.”

“Good night,” Dream mumbled before giving in to the darkness. 

__________

“WHAT THE FUCK,” Dream yelled shooting up out of bed. He had been deep into his sleep when he was suddenly struck with ice-cold water dripping down on him. He was completely drenched and could feel the liquid continue to run down him even though the water had stopped pouring down from above him. He looked up to see George holding an empty bucket, giggling.

“You weren’t waking up before, this seemed like my only option,” George smirked.

“Sure about that?” Dream asked, spitting out the water that had gotten in his mouth. “You could’ve just tapped me on the shoulder or something.”

“I did, I also tried shouting and moving your bed. I could have pushed you a little harder I guess but this seemed like more fun.” Dream believed him without a doubt. He had always been a heavy sleeper, it was always hard for him to wake up using alarms because he slept through them half the time.

“Well, why’d you want me awake so bad anyway?” Dream said, he noticed that even though he was drenched just moments ago his clothes were now pretty much dry. He quietly thanked Minecraft logic and put his mask on.

“Well we were going to let you sleep in, but Sapnap found something I think you’ll like.” George pulled Dream to his feet and rushed with him out of the house. After a few hundred blocks George put his arm in front of Dream, signaling for him to stop. “Look,” George said, gesturing to a pit a few blocks away. 

Dream slowly headed to the edge of the pit. “Be careful,” George warned. Dream peered over the edge and saw something that filled him with joy. 

A lava pool. “Hand me that bucket you had earlier,” Dream said with excitement. “I could make the portal right now and we can quickly get rods and go home-”

“No way,” George resisted, taking a step back from him. “We only have one life, we have to wait a bit before we go in. At least wait until we have all iron, maybe even diamond.” Even though Dream wanted to make the portal he knew George was right - and was relieved about it too. The thought of going into the nether scared him. Even when it was all just a game he still found the nether unsettling, now this was amplified.

“Let’s head back,” Dream suggested. George nodded and followed behind him. 

When they reached the house they were surprised to not see Sapnap and Alyssa, even though they had been eating lunch when Dream left the house. Instead was a chest blocking the doorway containing a book and quill. George got to it first and read it aloud. 

“We weren’t sure when you two would get back so we decided to go look for a village, I thought I saw something promising near the lava pool. We won’t be gone for too long, so don’t worry about us. I hope you two enjoy having the house to yourselves - winky face. Love, Sapnap,” George read, attempting an American accent which made Dream laugh. “He’s so weird.”

“Yeah I don’t know what’s up with him,” Dream commented, looking at the winky face near the bottom of the page. He made a mental note to lecture Sapnap about it later. Dream and George were still sort of awkward about what had happened the previous night… or at least Dream felt that way. He wanted to address what he said even though he had already talked about it because he had the feeling that’s what both of them were thinking about, but also didn’t want to make things weirder than they were. 

George flipped the page of the book and this time just handed it to Dream instead of reading it for him. It said:

P.S: Can you two please sort out all of the items in storage? The chests are a mess and it’d be great if you could help out with that :)  
Alyssa

Dream groaned, he knew that it shouldn’t take that long but he always got distracted easily when doing tasks like that, and George would end up having to do most of it. 

Ten minutes in and it was pretty clear that Dream’s prediction was pretty accurate. George had made signs for different chests such as ‘Food’ or ‘Tools’ and Dream was supposed to help him put every item in their corresponding chests. However, Dream had instead fixated on a block of cobblestone. He wasn’t really doing anything with it, just sitting on the ground and holding it in his hands running his fingers down the block. It was weird that when he was holding it the stone was actually really small, about the size of his hand, and when he placed it the size increased drastically. And even though it looked rough and textured it felt smooth and cool, almost like a countertop. When he looked closely he could see the different patterns and-

“Dream,” George called, rather loudly. “You gonna help or not?”

“Yeah,” Dream nodded. He didn’t move an inch. Suddenly he felt something smack him in the face, he didn’t take any damage but still got pushed back a little, and didn’t realize what it was until he reached up to find a slimy clear-yellow substance covering his mask. “Did you just egg me?”

George started laughing, a lot actually. It was the most he had laughed since joining the game. Dream giggled a little too, more at George’s odd sense of humor than anything else. “Yeah, there’s a bunch of spare eggs. Maybe you would have gotten some if you helped me with the chests.”

“That’s not fair you barely gave me time to respond,” Dream whined. “Plus there’s no way that you took all the eggs.” This was true, when Dream looked in the chest he found another stack of eggs. He’d remember coming across a ton with Alyssa and was happy that George hadn’t found them all. He threw one at George hitting him square in the chest. He fell back a few blocks but then grinned, retaliating by throwing more at Dream. This time he was quicker, dodging George’s attack and throwing more at him, only a few actually making it. George started to mirror his actions, moving less predictably so he was harder to hit. Dream looked into his hand and realized that he only had one more egg.

Dream raised his hand, signaling a time out. “I only have one egg left, do we have more in the chest?” 

George shook his head. “No, but I only have one left too. I guess we’ll just have to make these ones count.” He backed away from Dream, squinting, and holding out his arm for better aim.

“Wow, you’re really taking this seriously huh,” Dream laughed. He mimicked his friend, releasing the egg at the same time he did. Instead of hitting the other person the eggs collided spraying yolk all over the room, including their clothes. George had an expression of pure shock on his face sending Dream wheezing. He moved his slimy mask to the side of his face so he could see better.

“We’re going to have to clean this all up aren’t we?” George said between giggles. 

“Not necessarily,” Dream pondered. “The water you poured on me dried in less than a minute, this shouldn’t be any different.” Looking around the room, he seemed to be correct. There was still plenty of egg smeared around the room and the boys themselves, but some of the earlier throws had faded away.

“True,” George agreed. He took a step toward Dream when his foot slid across some stray egg-whites sending him falling backward. Dream noticed and grabbed his friend's arm, trying to catch him, but it was too late and he was brought down to the floor with George. The two of them laughed even harder than before until they both saw how close they were. Dream was almost on top of George, the only thing stopping them from touching was his arm, which caught his fall. George was breathing heavily and Dream could almost feel his friend’s warm breath against his cheek. 

And he leaned forward a little. He couldn’t help it, it was just too perfect. “What are you doing?” George whispered, leaning in a little too.

Dream backed away. “Sorry, I slipped.” He readjusted his mask so it was in front of his face again. “I’m going to my room.” George didn’t follow him, and Dream was thankful for it. He hated himself for what he was doing. What was he thinking, George was probably so uncomfortable. He hated the thought of George being uncomfortable. He hated his stupid feelings. 

He hated George for making him fall in love with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn't post last wednesday - I was sort of busy, but here you go, new chapter :D


	10. Chapter 9

The next few days were generally uneventful, Sapnap and Alyssa had come back the morning after they left and sadly didn’t find a village. Despite the tension between Dream and George they continued to sleep in the same room, Dream could have sworn that George’s bed was moving a few inches closer to his every night but he didn’t say anything. 

The four of them had found themselves in a similar, repetitive routine. Most of Dream’s day was spent strip mining, they all agreed that getting at least all diamond weapons before they went to the nether would be a good idea, and so far they had barely found any. Sapnap would normally do the same as Dream, either making his own tunnels or following behind to make sure his friend didn’t miss any ores on the days he was more tired. George and Alyssa protected the base from mobs and started a large farm outside of the house so they wouldn’t have to go too far to hunt. The amount of work they got done each day always impressed Dream, making him feel guilty whenever he came back with little diamonds or iron. At one point George even brought home a dog who they later named Floof. 

Besides the occasional mining with Sapnap, Dream didn’t get to talk much with his friends. They made a point to eat dinner together most days and when Dream tried to start a conversation Alyssa and Sapnap would end up being the only ones talking. George remained quiet for the most part, but only around Dream. 

One day when Dream woke up he noticed that George had gotten out of bed before him, which wasn’t too strange until he checked the clock (yes, they made a clock) on the wall. It was tilted to the night side with just a bit of day showing, he estimated it was around 2 or 3 am. 

Dream groaned and pulled himself out of bed. His eyes were heavy and he so badly wanted to go back to the warmth of his bed but knew he should check on George. It’s not like he was going to be getting any more sleep anyways, The living room revealed itself to be empty along with the chest room, and George’s room, which was mainly unused.

Dream contemplated going outside when he saw the ladder in the corner of the room leading to the roof of the house. He hadn’t been up there since the night George was lost and wasn’t really in the mood to be there again, but climbed the ladder anyway. Sure enough, George was sitting on top of the fence Alyssa had built as a railing. He seemed to be gazing off into the sky and didn’t notice Dream at all. 

“Hey,” Dream called out quietly. George jumped slightly at the noise and smiled at himself when he saw Dream’s face. “What are you doing up this late?”

“I could say the same for you,” George retaliated. “Were you having trouble sleeping too or did you just miss me that much?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” Dream said with a laugh. He wasn’t completely wrong, if he was really tired he probably wouldn’t have gotten up to find George. “So how’s it been?”

“You say that like we haven’t been sleeping in the same room each night.”

“Well, it’s not like we’ve been talking much.”

“True,” George agreed. “I feel like I don’t see you as much anymore, you’re always in the mine. You should really take a break, just for a few days. Working non stop like that can’t possibly be good for you.”

Dream shook his head. “Not until we have enough resources, any time we spend here not making progress is a waste. Who knows what it’s like in the real world, my family is probably worried sick about me.”

“Maybe, but your family would also want to know that you’re happy and healthy. Don’t worry about the world right now, try to stay alive here first.” Dream sighed, he knew George was right and he did want to take some time off but he knew he couldn’t. Any time he spent with George just made his feelings get worse, that’s the real reason he wanted to get out. He knew that if they all went back to their normal lives his feelings for his friend might go too. Or at least he hoped.

“I guess one day couldn’t hurt,” Dream admitted. George grinned and put his hand on top of Dream’s. His heart skipped a beat as George's cool skin met his, but at the same time, he was happy. Being this close to George felt natural in a way, like it was meant to be. 

“How many diamonds do you have now, it’s been a little while, maybe we should go to the nether soon.” George nonchalantly ran his fingers across Dream’s hand. Dream started to think that George didn’t even realize he was doing this which made it a thousand times sweeter.

“We have enough to get everyone a sword, a pickaxe, and maybe some armor or something.”

“That’s really good,” George said, shifting a little. “Are you sure we even need more than that? Maybe we can make an enchantment table for the armor so we don’t have to mine any more diamonds.”

“Maybe,” Dream considered. “But I just want us to be as safe as possible, I don’t want another repeat of what happened with Bad…” 

“You still feel bad about that don’t you?” Dream nodded his head, of course, he felt guilty. Even if he knew intellectually that he didn’t mean to kill Bad, he still had the memories of what he did. His friend dropping to the ground after being hit with the sword. The blood staining his blade red. And the worst part was that for a split second, Dream almost enjoyed it. The satisfaction he got from killing his friends in their normal manhunts transferred over in an odd way and he hated it. He certainly wouldn’t feel that way anymore now that he knew death in-game might be fatal, but at the time he just thought it would be like their other manhunts. Bad still haunted him during his dreams and he was almost grateful that his feelings for George gave him something else to think about during the day.

“How could I not feel horrible, it’d be weird if I didn’t,” Dream answered quietly.

George shrugged. “I guess that’s true.” He pulled himself away from the fence, his hand leaving Dream’s. “I’m going to try and sleep now, bye.”

Dream chuckled as he watched George climb down the ladder. He could be so awkward sometimes. Dream followed after a few minutes, going into his bedroom to find George already asleep. 

“Goodnight,” he said softly. He planted a kiss on his friend’s forehead and crawled into his own bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this one was a little short! The next one will probably be longer, also thank you guys so much for over 2,000 hits! I love you guys thanks so much for reading


	11. Chapter 1

The flint and steel in Dream’s hand felt light compared to most of the other items in his inventory, which was interesting to him. So many things could happen just because of this one little object. He could burn buildings, trees, or entire forests down with just a flick of his hand. One small decision could change his life forever.

And that’s what was going to happen tonight. By pressing one tiny switch Dream could open up a portal to an entirely different dimension, one with horrors unlike anything he’d seen before. To say he was nervous was an understatement. 

A few days prior the group decided that they would go to the nether soon, and now that the day had come everyone was acting tense and cold, even Dream himself. No one said a word during breakfast and now that lunch had passed by too they figured that they should build the portal and then light it after dinner. 

Sapnap and Alyssa had been making a big deal about this whole “dinner” thing. Although hunger worked pretty similarly to how it did in normal Minecraft, you could eat meals slowly like in real life if you wanted to. Although this was a really useless feature the group used it as an excuse to see each other at least once every day by eating one meal together, and for all they knew, it could easily be one of the last ones. Although no one dared to say it deep down they were all thinking the same thing: One of us is going to die. 

“I have the obsidian,” Sapnap said quietly behind Dream. A couple of days before, they poured water on the lava pool and gathered it to make obsidian. They contemplated using buckets to just make the portal in the pool, but since they needed obsidian to make an enchantment table anyways they just decided to gather the blocks. That way it could be closer to their house too. 

“Go ahead, place it down.” Sapnap did as Dream said, building up the frame of the portal. They hadn’t gotten enough for the corners so Dream just placed a couple of dirt blocks there instead. Despite the sad-looking portal, it seemed to radiate some sort of powerful energy. Even though they hadn’t lit it yet Dream could have sworn he saw some of the familiar purple particles floating around it, and judging by Sapnap’s wide eyes he saw it too.

Dream took a step back, he didn’t like the weird feeling the portal was giving him, and he stepped back inside the house with Sapnap. Alyssa greeted them, taking Sapnap into the chest room with her leaving Dream to himself. He wandered into his room expecting to be alone when he noticed George sitting on his bed, hugging his pillow.

“Hey,” George greeted him lamely. His grip on the pillow loosened a bit when Dream sat by him.

“Hi.”

“So you built the portal?”

“Yeah. We’re gonna light it after dinner. Are you nervous?” Dream asked. George nodded. “I am too. Everything should be okay though. We all have swords and armor, as long as we stick together I doubt anything bad can happen.”

“That’s not true. We’ve died so many times in the nether when we were just playing a game. Now everything is so much harder, there’s no way all of us make it.” George argued. 

Before Dream could protest there was a knock at the door followed by Alyssa slowly opening it. “Dinner is ready,” She said quietly. The three two of them followed her to the living room where she had tons of different foods laid out. Almost any meal in the game was there, it reminded Dream of the scene in Harry Potter when Harry has his first meal at Hogwarts. In the middle was a perfectly square cake split into four large pieces. Even though it looked like a lot, they each had stacks of food on them for when they had to go to the nether. Eating in the game normally only took one bite, so slowly eating their dinner as they did in the real world didn’t feel that natural, but it was definitely worth it. 

“What biome do you think we’ll load into in the nether?” Sapnap asked, not to anyone in particular. He was clearly trying to end the uneasiness in the room but it wasn’t working all that well.

“Probably the default one, or a crimson forest maybe,” George suggested after a weird moment of silence. 

“Yeah probably. Hopefully, we’re near the fortress,” Alyssa chimed in. 

“That’d be great. I might be bad luck though, I always get terrible nether spawns,” Dream admitted. 

“You’re kidding, right? Half the time you spawn practically in the fortress,” George claimed.

Sapnap raised an eyebrow. “Since when? Last manhunt he spent almost an hour looking for it.” 

“I guess,” George said, rolling his eyes. The next few minutes passed by in silence and no one wanted to be the one to break it. Dream felt himself growing more and more nervous, but he tried to ignore it. Soon enough they could see the night sky through their window. 

"We should probably get going," Sapnap acknowledged, leaving his seat. "Is everyone ready?" Dream checked his own inventory, he had all the supplies they agreed to pack - food, armor, tools, blocks - but something didn't feel right. Despite that, he decided he was ready, even if he did forget something one of the others probably had it. 

"I'm ready," Alyssa said. 

"Me too," George and Dream said in unison. They followed Sapnap to the outside of the house where they had built the portal earlier.

Dream held up the flint and steel in front of him. "Anyone wanna light it?" Sapnap shook his head, Alyssa took a step back, and George crossed his arms. Dream sighed, knowing it was up to him. He brought himself to the portal and reached his hand inside of it, holding the flint and steel. The fire danced, reflecting itself onto the dark obsidian. When Dream pressed it against the block the portal immediately opened, a purple light with swirls and patterns appearing in the center of the blocks. The color reflected on anything within a few blocks range, giving Dream's arm a light tint to them. He stuck his hand through it and although he didn't get transported he could feel it start to numb. When he pulled it out it felt almost normal again.

"Only two can fit at a time I think," commented George. "Who should go first?"

"I can," Alyssa volunteered, raising her hand. She took a step to the portal and Spanap grabbed her hand, walking in with her. The two of them vanished the second they reached the purple. 

_ItsAlyssa has made the achievement [We Need To Go Deeper]_   
_Sapnap has made the achievement [We Need To Go Deeper]_

Dream felt George take his hand and give it a tight squeeze. "You ready?" Dream asked. "We can always go tomorrow if you're not feeling it."

George laughed, but it sounded forced and fake. "I'll never be ready so may as well go in now." Without another word, he pulled Dream to the portal. The two of them stepped in together and Dream felt a more intense version of what his hand had felt before. Everything felt numb, almost like when your foot falls asleep. It's not really painful but not pleasant either. Just strange. His vision got worse, everything swaying around him until all he could see was purple. 

And then everything was fine. He could see perfectly, he felt normal, as if nothing ever happened in the first place. He stepped out of the portal and found himself facing Alyssa and Sapnap, surrounded by fire and netherrack. It looked and felt like hell.

_Dream has made the achievement [We Need To Go Deeper]_   
_GeorgeNotFound has made the achievement [We Need To Go Deeper]_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey guys! Thank you so much for the hits and kudos I'm glad you're enjoying this. I wanted to post yesterday to stay consistent butttt my internet went out lol. Anyway, this one was kind of short but the next one is going to be a lot longer and a lot is gonna happen in it, so stay tuned for that!


	12. Chapter 11

tw // mild panic attack/anxiety

Everything was hot and red. Mobs littered the area, luckily most of them were the peaceful pigmen. Even though they were in a pretty open part of the nether everything was still pretty closed off. The roof made everything a little darker but the ocean of lava below them glowed as bright as the sun in the overworld did. 

“Where should we start?” asked Sapnap solemnly. “I think I see a crimson forest over there, but we could also go that direction -” he gestured to a small opening that led to who knows where.

“I don’t feel like dealing with Hoglins right now, anything but the forest,” George said.

Alyssa slowly strolled to the area Sapnap was referring to. It looked like the start of a cave almost, but there weren't that many other options unless they wanted to build over the lava. The group moved toward it together, Sapnap placing blocks next to them every once and a while to keep track of where they were going. Dream would mine any gold they saw in case they wanted to trade with it. A few minutes into their wandering Dream looked down and noticed something.

George never let go of his hand. In fact, he was holding it very tightly and it was starting to hurt a little bit. Dream didn’t mind though, he liked the feeling of George’s skin against his. In some sort of twisted way, he didn’t want to beat the game. He knew that if they made it out he’d never see his friends as much as he does now, and it’d be ages until they met up in person. 

Slowly Dream and George started to trail behind Alyssa and Sapnap until they could barely hear them. 

“So who do you think is gonna die?” George asked bluntly. “My money’s on either me or Sapnap.”

Dream was taken aback by George's abruptness. “What the hell? Who says anyone is gonna die?”

“Stop pretending Dream, I know you’re thinking the same thing.” George wasn’t completely wrong, Dream had the feeling that something bad was going to happen. He knew that they were well prepared, and they should be safe, but his anxiety was making him expect the worst.

“Maybe. But no one’s gonna die, I can’t let that happen to another person.” George turned away, his grip on Dream’s hand loosened. 

“Is there anything you want to say to me? In case things don’t go so well,” George questioned. Dream knew what he was referring to. They both knew what he was referring to. 

Thankfully Dream didn’t have to answer, he was interrupted by an excited Sapnap. “I FOUND IT!” He yelled back at them. “I SEE THE FORTRESS!” When Dream and George caught up to him they could barely make out what he was talking about. Hundreds of blocks away were the familiar bridges of a nether fortress. The only problem was that they were separated from it by a gigantic body of lava. Looking around, Dream noticed that there wasn’t another way to get to it unless they built across. 

“I can build,” Sapnap volunteered. “I’m not sure if I have enough blocks though, can I borrow some from one of you?” Dream handed him all of his blocks without saying a word. Sapanap started to build a bridge and Alyssa followed behind him. George started to join them when he turned around to see Dream still far behind, not even standing on the bridge. 

“Dream what are you waiting for, let’s go,” George urged. Dream just shook his head.  _ We’re so high up. _

“Right, you’re afraid of heights aren’t you.” Dream nodded. He still couldn’t bring himself to say anything. He’d always had trouble with heights, he had so many memories of his family going on roller coasters or tall buildings and he always had to stay behind. Even as an adult, he never quite got over it.

And now the fear was worse than ever. He knew that he had to get on the bridge but physically couldn’t bring himself to do so. He felt a lump rise in his throat and wasn’t surprised when tears in his eyes followed. He brought a shaky hand to his face to check that the mask was covering it, and sure enough, it was. George looked confused, clearly unsure of what to do, and Dream couldn’t blame him. He felt like a helpless little baby and he hated it. 

“Do you wanna hold my hand or something?” George suggested, probably as a joke but Dream was too distracted to tell. He nodded sheepishly and stuck his hand out. It was still shaky, and a little sweaty too but George took it without hesitation. The bridge was too thin for both of them to walk side by side so George was walking backward slowly, facing Dream. He took a deep breath and followed George’s lead. 

“You’re going to be fine, Dream, don’t worry,” George assured him. 

Dream let out a breath and continued down the bridge, trying not to look down at the lava below him. “Can you talk about something else to distract me please?” His voice cracked on the last word which he normally would have found embarrassing if he weren’t having a minor panic attack. 

George looked around a bit. “I wonder how the SMP is doing without us. Tommy is probably spamming my inbox right now.”

Dream chuckled half-heartedly. “Oh, our fans must be so mad at us.” They were almost halfway to the fortress. 

“I’m sure they’ve noticed something’s wrong by now. It’s been what, two-three weeks in here?”

“23 days,” Dream corrected. “Not like I’ve been counting.”

“That might be off though. Does time pass by at the same rate as it does in the real world?”

Dream shrugged. “Hell if I know.”

“So, how’s America doing, with the election and all?” George was clearly out of options. 

Dream laughed, a real one this time. “Does it matter? I’m stuck here the President can’t affect me.”

“I guess,” George looked behind him and started to slow down. “Sapnap is almost done. We’ll be there any minute.”

Distant cheering from his friends echoed through the nether. Dream wasn’t even thinking about the height anymore, he and George sprinted their way to the fortress. 


	13. Chapter

The four of them slowly made their way inside the fortress, each of them facing a different direction in case a mob tried to attack. Everything remained uneventful aside from the occasional wither skeleton, which they were always able to kill easily. They continued through the maze-like structure trying to avoid parts that were more open until Dream finally spotted a blaze spawner. Sadly, it was right in the open nether along with all the pathways to get to it. 

Without a word, they dashed to the spawner as another batch of blazes spawned. They agreed to get 20 rods, 5 each, so that they’d have enough to make potions too. Fighting the blazes was surprisingly easy as they only lost health every once in a while. Every time Dream felt himself get caught on fire or burned it hurt, but quickly disappeared once he ate something. 

"I have five," Sapnap said, still panting after the previous set of blazes. "What about you guys?"

"Four," Alyssa counted. "But if someone else has extra I should be fine."

Dream checked his inventory and pulled out six rods. "Here." He handed his extra one to Alyssa.

"I have five too," George confirmed. "Should we head back then?"

"Sure," Sapnap replied. Dream felt a wave of relief wash over him as he turned back to the previous direction with his friends. The nether wasn't nearly as challenging as he worried it would have been, in fact, it almost felt easier than some of the other times he's had in Minecraft. He gripped the blaze rods in one hand and his sword in the other and for a moment he almost felt  _ powerful _ . He had destroyed every mob in his way with little to no effort, and now they were almost ready to get to the end.

That's when Dream began to hear some sort of shrieking coming from the side of him. It almost reminded him of his cat, Patches, and he whirled around trying to find the source of the noise. The other three seemed to do the same until Alyssa started to shriek.

"GHAST!" She screamed as a warning. Dream was almost too slow, just barely dodging the fireball before him. He looked to his side and was relieved to see George had made it too. Then on his left where Sapnap and Alyssa had been originally was just one giant hole... 

"Dream!" Sapnap shouted from the other side of the bridge. Dream could barely see him due to the distance and the smoke caused by the fire around them.

"Sapnap! Alyssa! Are you alright?" He yelled. Before he could get an answer the ghast turned to him and George before squealing and opening its mouth.

Dream and George cursed as they ran away from the second fireball, making them stray further from Alyssa and Sapnap. They continued to run through the winding roads in an attempt to lose the ghast, but it didn’t seem to do much. The ghost-like creature flew through the sky at them and continued to hurl fireballs in their direction. Eventually, they found an opening to a more closed off part of the fortress that the ghast wouldn’t be able to fit in. 

"George, can you block the entrance?" Dream spat out quickly. "I gave my blocks to Sapnap."

George shook his head, sweat dripping down his face. "I was placing mine down back there so we wouldn't get lost."

Dream groaned and took out his pickaxe. "Fine, I can just mine a few." After just a couple of blocks, his pickaxe broke and he was left with just a stick in his hands. "Shit." He forgot that there wasn't a way to tell if tools were close to breaking when there was no bar underneath them. 

“I didn’t bring a pickaxe,” George admitted, worry making itself known in his voice. “I didn’t want to waste materials since everyone else already had one.”

“Are you kidding me?” Dream snapped, raising his voice a little too much. “I asked you if you had everything and you said yes.”    
  


“Jesus, I thought I wouldn’t need one okay? No need to be so mean about it.” George rolled his eyes.

“Well sorry if I’m a little stressed right now but if you haven’t noticed we’re in the middle of a fortress with no blocks, and monsters that will start spawning any minute!” Dream said harshly. He didn’t want to be rude to George but the fortress was getting to him. 

Three wither skeletons spawned right after Dream’s sentence, almost as if he summoned them. They darted toward Dream and George without hesitation. Dream grabbed George’s arm pulling him in the opposite direction. They might have outran them if it weren’t for the dead-end they ran straight into. 

And when Dream thought it couldn’t get any worse a notification popped up in the corner of his eye:

_ ItsAlyssa tried to swim in lava. _

“Fuck,” Dream screamed, gripping George’s hand tighter. “We’re dead.”

The skeletons were inching closer. They couldn’t take them on, they’d be gone within minutes. “Dream I’m sorry it’s all my fault -”

“No, it’s not I shouldn’t have blamed you,” Dream confessed. “George there’s something I want to do, before… they get to us.”

“What is it?” George asked, clearly more focused on the skeletons nearing in than Dream.

Dream turned George around so he was facing Dream completely. He cupped the shorter boy’s face with his hands and leaned in, bringing their lips together. It was long and desperate. Dream didn’t want the kiss to end - didn’t want his  _ life  _ to end.

And it didn’t. He heard the clattering of bones as the wither skeletons dropped to the ground, dead. Arrows stuck out of their skulls and behind them was Sapnap, holding a bow and breathing heavily. 

“We need to get out of here - are you guys alright?”  _ Sapnap how much did you see. _

“Yes,” Dream and George said in unison. 

“My health is still low from the ghast but I should be fine after I eat,” Dream added. 

“Same here,” George said, already eating some meat. 

Sapnap walked forward with his bow still out, gesturing for the other two to follow him. No one said a word, and they didn’t run into any other mobs. Sapnap had a stoic expression on and George looked deep in thought. Dream felt numb.

They walked through the portal together and as soon as they reached the other side Sapnap broke down. He fell to his knees and wept. Dream was crying too, and for once he didn’t put on his mask. He hugged his friend in his arms, Sapnap sobbing into his hoodie. 

“She’s gone,” he cries. “I could have saved her but I was too slow. First Bad, now Alyssa - how are we supposed to make it to the end if we keep dying.”

Dream didn’t answer, he didn’t know what to say. Neither did George. They went inside eventually. Sapnap’s sniffles could be heard throughout the house but Dream and George didn’t say anything. Dream couldn’t sleep but not for the right reasons, he felt guilty for that. It wasn’t that the nether was scary, or that his health was still a little low. It wasn’t even Bad or Alyssa keeping him up. It was George. It was always fucking George.

Cause for a split second when Dream kissed him

George kissed back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: thanks for almost 3000 hits, and all the kudos! you guys are amazing. also I'm sorry this chapter didn't really come out how I wanted it to. not really sure where to go with this story tbh


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay this is pretty short 0-0 next chapter will be longer fs lol

“ALYSSA WATCH OUT!”

Alyssa spun around to find herself face to face with the largest magma cube she’s ever seen. She quickly backed away as fast as she could, which wasn’t very fast considering how the ghast’s fireball from earlier had cut into her left shin. She staggered backward, crashing into Sapnap and sensing his hands on her waist. Sapnap pulled her away from the cube swiftly before being greeted by almost a dozen skeletons. Their aim was mediocre at best but with the number of arrows being shot it was difficult to dodge them all. Sapnap’s grip on her loosened as he pulled out his sword and thrashed it at the skeletons one by one. Meanwhile, the magma cube slowly made its way closer. Alyssa could almost feel the heat radiating off of it. Sapnap was still battling the remaining skeletons, breathing heavily with each hit. Alyssa watched knowing that the chances of Sapnap having enough strength leftover to fight the cube was slim. 

She looked to the maroon blob in front of her and then down at the lava hundreds of blocks below them. If she could manage to push the monster off the fortress bridge and onto the lava below, it wouldn’t be able to hurt Sapnap. She pressed her hands against the outside of the magma cube and hissed at the burning feeling in her hands. She realized the likelihood of her surviving this was low, but she had already accepted it. In her current state she probably wouldn’t be able to survive the End, let alone the rest of the nether, and if she didn’t sacrifice herself now she knew Sapnap would go down with her. 

She shifted her weight so that she was moving the magma cube backward, into the lava. Each second that passed by burned her hands more, but she ignored the pain and continued. 

“ALYSSA, NO! ” Sapnap screamed. The fear in his voice almost made her second guess herself. His footsteps became louder just as Alyssa managed to push the cube into the lava below. She felt herself lose her balance and didn’t bother to correct it. Her left foot slipped off the ledge quickly followed by her right. She squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation for the fall when a hand clasped around her forearm. 

Sapnap looked down at her, both of them out of breath. “Sapnap, you have to let go.”

He shook his head. “I can’t,” he whimpered. “Let me pull you up, please.” 

Alyssa’s eyes met his with a mutual understanding. They both knew she wouldn’t make it, even if Sapnap tried to deny it. If Sapnap somehow managed to pull her up she’d barely be able to walk. She was dragging him down - literally. Without hesitation, she yanked her arm away from his before he could be pulled down further. 

The fall itself wasn’t that bad. She vaguely registered Sapnap’s screaming in the background, but other than that it was rather peaceful. Her stomach dropped and the air brushed past her skin like the familiar feeling of going on a rollercoaster. When she finally connected with the lava she didn’t bother to try swimming up, the thick substance slowly embracing her limbs and dragging her down. 

_______

**Spectate World**

The grey button stood in front of her, floating lifelessly. Behind it, Alyssa could see the orange glow of lava and fire taunting her. With no other option, she leaned forward and pressed the button gently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM BACK GUYS! im so sorry i was unmotivated for so long so this story almost completely slipped my mind. I'm determined to finish it though now, im aiming for weekly uploads now but I cant make any promises if school gets in the way haha  
> ty for all the comments and kudos! you guys are the best


	15. Chapter 14

After an entire night filled with anxiety and tears, Dream decided not to address the kiss. If George asked about it he’d shrug it off and say it was because he was under pressure, or confused. He acknowledged that there was a high chance that George liked him back, but that wasn’t necessarily good. If Dream rejected him it’d be easier on both of them if either of the two died before they beat the game. It would hurt, a lot, but it had to be done. 

He stumbled out of bed and made his way past a sleeping George to get to the door. He laid his hand on the cold knob and hesitated before pushing it open. He closed the door behind him quietly so as to not disturb his sleeping friend. He felt something hit his foot as he stepped into the hall - a shard from a flower pot that Alyssa had made just a few days ago to house a rose she had given to him. It had previously sat on a slab outside of Sapnap’s door. Dream bent down and picked up the flower before he headed into the kitchen and was met with dark eyes and the smell of freshly made bread. 

“Hey,” Sapnap choked through a mouthful of food. He made an attempt to smile which ended up looking more like a cringe. 

“Hi,” Dream said back. “How’re you holding up?” Sapnap answered with a small sob muffled by the snack. Dream awkwardly put his hand on his shoulder. After so many years of being friends, Dream still wasn’t quite sure how to comfort Sapnap. Sometimes he just needed attention, and sometimes he coped by doing the exact opposite and going offline for days at a time. Dream was happy to provide the former, but he wasn’t sure if stepping away from the situation was possible here. “Hey, it’s okay. A lot happened last night. Do you wanna talk about it?” He clenched the rose in his first.

Sapnap let out a shaky breath and fiddled with the bread in his hands, tearing the remaining part of it into little pieces. “I didn’t know Alyssa that well before all this, but I see why you were so close with her now.” The thorn was digging into his hand. “And now she’s gone. Normally I’d talk to Bad about this sort of thing…”

“I know it’s not the same, but I am here for you if you need me,” Dream assured.

Sapnap sighed and shrugged Dream’s hand off his shoulder. “Thanks. I appreciate it, but I think I need to be by myself for a bit. I’ll be on the roof if you need me.” The ladder creaked loudly behind him, filling the house with the sound.

Dream back down to the rose. It was already starting to wilt, the once vibrant red now a dark patchy maroon on the edges of the petals. Blood from his hand dripped onto the stem and rolled down to the floor in small droplets. 

“And now she’s gone.” The words echoed through his head. Alyssa. Bad. Neither of their deaths felt real, the full effect of them hadn’t sunk in because he had been so caught up in himself - until now. He already missed waking up to Alyssa building rooms or smelting food. It had been so long since he had been called a “muffin” or a “potato.” He felt a pain in his chest and his eyes started to blur so much he could barely see a thing. Footsteps lurked toward his direction and he felt around him to try and find his mask. A string of curses slipped his mouth when he realized he left it in his room. He was about to stand up and go get it when George appeared in front of him. 

The last person he wanted to see.

George’s cold hand made its way to his cheek only to disappear a few seconds later when George saw his palm. “I’ll get you a bandage,” George said quietly. “Stay there.” George trailed off into another room, presumably their chest room, and returned less than a minute later with a spool of wool and some cooked mutton. He ate the food quickly and immediately felt the wound in his hand healing itself faster. George still insisted on wrapping the bandage around his hand in case of an infection, something that Dream questioned because George himself said the bandages were stupid after an incident with a garden hoe about a week before they went to the nether. 

“I saw the flower pot in the hallway. Is that why you’re bleeding? Did you throw it or something?” George asked as he wrapped the soft cloth around Dream’s palm, turning the off-white to a deep red. 

“It was like that when I woke up. Sapnap probably knocked it over by accident when he woke up,” Dream replied.

George lightened the fabric and cut it off the spool with a stone blade. “Then what happened here?”

“I was holding the rose, I didn’t notice I was pressing down on the thorns I guess,” Dream said. George let out a small hum and tossed the bandages into a random chest. 

“So how are we going to get the pearls?” George asked, Dream thanked him internally for changing the topic, and that the topic wasn’t their kiss. “We could always barter with piglins, which would probably go well considering your “luck.” But I’m not sure if any of us really want to go back to the nether anytime soon.” George sat down next to Dream.

Dream shuddered at the thought of going back. “Wait, are you actually making “cheating” jokes right now?”

George shrugged and let out a small laugh. Dream’s heart leaped when he heard it. “The numbers don’t lie, and the odds of having that luck is pretty low.”

“You’re only saying that because your luck is shit.” 

“Sure.” George rolled his eyes and smiled. 

Dream elbowed his friend (a little too harshly) and stretched his arms with a yawn. George held his hand out, Dream took it and pulled him to his feet. “I think I’m going to try and find some sheep, we’re going to need more beds for the End.”

“Are you sure? Beds might work differently here, it’s safer to go with bows to kill it,” George suggested. 

Dream made his way to the door. “Maybe, but I’m sick of choosing between eating bread all day or hunting, getting some animals isn’t a bad idea.”

“Can I come? We should probably discuss some things.”

Dream froze, his hand gripping the handle of the door. “What do you mean?” It was the feeling of getting called to the principal's office, the feeling of having a “family meeting” with your parents.

“Dream, I haven’t forgotten about what happened in the fortress.” 

The feeling of getting caught.


End file.
